The recent surge in child migrants is attributed to a combination of factors, such as entrenched poverty that makes it difficult for large numbers of young people who are entering the workforce to find jobs, and powerful armed criminal groups that are targeting children who are especially vulnerable to physical harm and manipulation to carry out illicit activities.

The church community is rallying together in various ways to learn about and address this situation. Clergy and laity from the Desert Southwest Conference, for example traveled to Nogales, Mexico, bringing donations for the children and searching for information about how The United Methodist Church can help care for the unaccompanied migrant children.

New ministries have already begun at the Phoenix and Tucson Greyhound bus stations offering hospitality to immigrant families that have received temporary legal status through humanitarian parole and are being dropped off at bus stations.

To learn about what the Desert Southwest Conference is doing, check out their resources >>